


interference

by days4daisy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean is Not Good at Words, Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Extra Treat, M/M, Reunions, but he tries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/days4daisy/pseuds/days4daisy
Summary: Dean pulls off to the side of the road and climbs out of the Impala. He isn't sure why he stops; he just knows he should.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	interference

**Author's Note:**

  * For [klutzy_girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/klutzy_girl/gifts).



> I hope you have a nice CB! :)

Dean pulls off to the side of the road and climbs out of the Impala. He isn't sure why he stops; he just knows he should. The line of trees is thinner along this stretch, open between the woods and the river just beyond.

It’s the late part of the afternoon Dean likes, where the sky gets a spun gold look before it descends into pinks and reds. Minutes pass, but the sky keeps the warm touch of a single flame in a mason jar. Dean’s boots snap twigs off the road. It’s darker under sky-spanning trees, but Dean never gets that age-old urge to check for monsters in the shadows.

The sun is brighter on the other side of the tree line, glittering off the river like a diamond case. Castiel strands on the bank wearing that same goddamn trench coat. His back is to Dean, facing the water, but Cas knows he’s there. Dean remembers the relaxed slouch in his shoulders. The type of calm a person gets when they know they’re with family.

Dean starts thinking about stuff that hasn’t crossed his mind since he climbed into his Baby. Things like, how long has he been here? How long has Sam been on his own? How about Cas? Bobby said Cas was around, that Jack brought him back, but how long’s he been here? And why didn’t he show himself before? After how things left off with them, Cas should have come to see him. Dean...he's wanted to see Cas.

Dean remembers the way Castiel disappeared before his eyes. How the Empty took him with a smile on his face. Not just any smile. An expression Dean had never seen on Cas before.

“I found a friend of yours,” Castiel says.

In the blink of an eye, Cas is holding a red leash. A familiar furry head looks excitedly up at Dean. Dean remembers in an instant. “Hey, boy!”

He kneels on the grass and welcomes licks to the face. Happiness thrums through the dog’s body. Dean is happy too, even though he knows what it means for Miracle to be here. “Guess he really was a miracle,” Dean says. His arms are around the dog, but his eyes are on Cas. The late afternoon sun plays off Cas' face, it makes his eyes shine like the river stretching out in front of them.

“He was with Sam,” Castiel says. The stutter in his breath echoes the one in Dean’s chest. “Sam is...he’s alright, Dean. He’s safe, and he has a family.” A smile crosses his face. “He and Eileen had a son. A boy. You’ll never guess what they named him.”

Dean can't smile at the joke without pushing the tears in his eyes over the brim. He kisses Miracle’s head before he stands. The dog sits at his feet, a sturdy weight against his side.

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Castiel says. Emotion floods his voice, eyes still fixed to the river. He keeps going before Dean can ask what he's talking about. “You should have had more time. I promised Jack when he invited me back from the Empty. I promised we would rebuild Heaven together, make it worthy of humanity.”

 _Worthy of you_ goes unspoken like a breeze whistling through the trees.

“It is,” Dean says. “It’s awesome.”

It isn’t what he wants to say, it’s not good or grand enough. Even after everything he saw in his life, ‘rebuilding Heaven’ is way past his pay grade. He doesn’t have words to describe what it meant to have Bobby waiting on that porch for him. How the open road has felt. No destination, no hunt, no danger; just the purr of the motor and the wind whipping his face. Cas gave Dean this gift. Cas gave Dean so much before, but he still helped give him this too.

Castiel turns to face Dean finally. He looks like the Cas Dean remembers, still carrying more of a burden than he should. “I promised him I would never interfere again. Jack was right, it became too much. The design itself was pure, but it got lost along the way. Jack wants it to get back to that. I want that too. But you should have had more time, Dean. After everything you did for the world, what you did for _everyone_ , you-”

Dean pulls Cas into a hug. His fists set securely against Cas’ back. Alive or not, Cas feels real to him - warm and strong like he always did. The breath Cas sucks in is as real as it comes.

“I got exactly what I wanted,” Dean tells him. “You already gave me too much, Cas. You gave me everything. I don’t need any more.” He isn’t sure if Castiel believes him, but he relaxes in Dean's arms.

Dean can’t begin to guess how long they stand together, chests rising and falling together. Miracle’s steady panting breaths form a metronome to their embrace. Cas’ hands sink against the small of Dean’s back. Dean tightens his arms, trying to say what he can’t find the words to. He wishes he could, he fights for the right thing to say. But all he knows is it feels good to have Cas in his arms. It feels right.

Even without time as a measure, it feels too soon when Dean lets go. The tears are gone from Castiel’s eyes. He looks happy again. Truly happy, only this time there’s no twist. No Empty coming to claim its prize. Right now, Castiel is only Dean's.

“So,” Dean says, jamming hands in his denim pockets, “does, uh, Jack consider this ‘interfering’?”

Castiel shakes his head, but he’s still smiling. “I made a good case for being the one to return your companion to you.” He leans down to pat Miracle’s head. The dog licks at Cas’ fingers. Something tightens in Dean’s throat. “And when it’s time, I promise, Dean." His eyes turn somber. "I’ll be the one to personally bring Sam home.”

“Damn it, Cas,” Dean grumbles, turning so he won’t show wet eyes. His heart, what he still has of one, aches in his chest. He reaches for Cas’ wrist, the familiar buttons of his coat sleeve under his fingers. Castiel looks surprised but doesn’t move out of reach.

“What about…” Dean huffs, fumbling for words. “Today. Tonight. Come home with me and Miracle. Just for a little while before you gotta go back off and help the kid.” He chews the inside of a cheek and hopes.

Castiel blows out a slow breath. It’s clear he thinks he should say no. It’s also abundantly clear that he won’t.

“I’d like that,” Cas says, so sincere that Dean again finds himself at a loss for words.

So he forgoes them. Instead, Dean slings an arm around Cas' shoulders and leads him back out to the Impala. Cas feels warm and solid against Dean's side. Dean is smiling, and he can’t stop. At their side, Miracle trots along happily. Everything is as it should be.


End file.
